Parts washers or cleaners have been used by mechanics at auto dealerships, garages and other places of business for many years. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,557 assigned to the assignee of the present invention, a parts washer is disclosed that includes a sink mounted to an independent support structure that is adapted to receive and support a fluid storage receptacle. The sink support structure includes a roller conveyor that supports the receptacle and permits an old receptacle to be easily replaced with a new receptacle without removing the sink during servicing of the washer. The parts washer has a fluid circulating system that includes a submersible electric pump located in the fluid receptacle for circulating cleaning fluid between the receptacle and the sink. The cleaning fluid is preferably an aqueous solution and a heating unit is provided to elevate the temperature of the solution to improve its cleaning capabilities.
The roller conveyor proposed in the aforementioned patent adds cost to the unit and requires maintenance over time. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to eliminate the conveyor while maintaining ease of replacement of the fluid receptacle. An aqueous cleaning solution is advantageous relative to petroleum based cleaning solutions but to be most effective must be maintained at an elevated temperature by the heating unit. It would be advantageous from a cost standpoint to minimize heat loss from the cleaning fluid.